You are currently browsing the archives for December, 2005.

Former Austin Police Department DWI Task Force Officer Indicted

A Travis County grand jury indicted three Austin police officers, accusing them of punching and using stun guns on a handcuffed suspect after a September traffic accident.

Officers William Heilman (a former member of the Austin DWI Task Force), Christopher Gray and Joel Follmer each were indicted on a charge of official oppression, a class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum punishment of a year in jail. Gray and Follmer are on restricted duty — Gray since Oct. 7 and Follmer since Dec. 9, according to police records. They are being investigated by the department’s Internal Affairs Division. Read the rest of this entry »

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Broken Travis probation department getting fixed

Travis County probation officers are so bogged down with paperwork and heavy caseloads that they do not have time to focus on ways to keep the probationers they supervise from committing new crimes, according to a recent consultant’s report. Read the rest of this entry »

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Texas troopers watching for DWIs

The D-P-S “Operation Holiday” effort begins tomorrow and runs through Monday in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities.

All available troopers will be on patrol.

Officers will be watching for drunken drivers, people who are speeding and travelers not wearing seat belts.

Troopers during the Christmas 2004 weekend made 340 D-W-I arrests.

D-P-S says nearly eleven-thousand speed tickets were issued during that period, while almost 12-hundred citations were written for seat belt violations.

Click here for the full story as reported in the Austin American Statesman

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DWI Dismissed

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer reported that he came into contact with my client because he was involved in a collision.

My client PROVIDED A BREATH TEST. My client didn’t know he could refuse the tests. The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and bloodshot and glassy eyes. He provided two breath specimens with a reported BAC of .098 and .096.

My client also did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The officer said my client exhibited 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client exhibited 3 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The officer said that my client put his foot down on the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client plead to a Non-DWI offense. This will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from his record.

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DWI Dismissed

My client was arrested for DWI in Manor, Texas by an officer with the Manor Police Department. The officer reported that she stopped my client because he had a license plate light not functioning.

My client REFUSED TO PROVIDE A BREATH TEST. (It was not my client’s first arrest for DWI) The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and bloodshot and glassy eyes.

My client also did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The officer said my client exhibited 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The officer said that my client exhibited 2 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The officer said that my client swayed and used his arms for balance on the One Leg Stand test.

We took the case to court and let the State know we were going to fight the case. Eventually, the prosecutor agreed to DISMISS THE DWI and my client plead to a Non-DWI offense. This will allow us to have the DWI completely erased from his record.

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Driving While Intoxicated – DL Hearing DISMISSED

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer stated that he stopped my client because he said that my client fit the description of someone reported as causing a disturbance.

My client REFUSED TO PROVIDE A BREATH TEST. It wasn’t his first arrest for DWI. The Officer stated that my client had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and had bloodshot, glassy and watery eyes. He also stated that my client spoke with slurred speech.

My client did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). He stated that he didn’t know he could refuse them. The Officer said my client exhibited all 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Officer said that my client displayed 5 of the 8 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The Officer said that my client refused to perform the One Leg Stand test.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of his driver’s license. We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension. We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. His LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

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Driving While Intoxicated – DL Hearing DISMISSED

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer stated that he found my client passed out behind the wheel of his car.

My client PROVIDED A BREATH TEST. My client didn’t know he could refuse the tests. The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath and bloodshot and glassy eyes. He provided two breath specimens with a reported BAC of .189 and .194.

My client also did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The Officer said my client exhibited all 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Officer said that my client displayed 5 of the 8 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The Officer said that my client swayed, used his arms for balance and put his foot down 9 times on the One Leg Stand test.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of his driver’s license. We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension. We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. His LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

Posted in Austin DWI, Breath Test, Drivers License Suspension Victories | Comments Off

Driving While Intoxicated – DL Hearing DISMISSED

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer stopped my client because the officer said that my client ran a flashing red light and struck a curb.

My client PROVIDED A BREATH TEST. My client didn’t know he could refuse the tests. The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath. He provided two breath specimens with a reported BAC of .161 and .162.

My client also did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The Officer said my client exhibited 6 of the 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Officer said that my client displayed 4 of the 8 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The Officer said that my client swayed and used his arms for balance on the One Leg Stand test.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of her driver’s license.

We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension.We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. His LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

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Driving While Intoxicated – DL Hearing DISMISSED

My client was arrested for DWI in Austin, Texas by an officer with the Austin Police Department. The officer stopped my client because the officer said that my client was going the wrong way on a one way street. My client admitted to drinking 5 drinks.

My client PROVIDED A BREATH TEST. My client didn’t know he could refuse the tests. The officer reported that my client had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath. He provided two breath specimens with a reported BAC of .117 and .110.

My client also did the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). The Officer said my client exhibited 5 of the 6 clues of intoxication on the HGN (eye jerking) test. The Officer said that my client displayed 4 of the 8 clues of intoxication on the Walk & Turn test. The Officer said that my client swayed on the One Leg Stand test.

We appealed the so called “automatic” suspension of his driver’s license.

We filed discovery requests and subpoenaed all the officers involved to justify our client’s arrest and the suspension.We argued to the ALR judge that DPS couldn’t prove all the necessary elements necessary to suspend my client’s license. The judge ruled that we were correct and denied DPS’ request to suspend my client’s license. His LICENSE WAS NOT SUSPENDED.

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Austin Police Target Holiday DWIs

Officers throughout Central Texas will be targeting drunken, aggressive and erratic drivers through Jan. 1.

Law enforcement agencies in Central Texas will be targeting people who drive erratically or under the influence of alcohol from now until Jan. 1 in an effort to curb traffic accidents during the holiday season, police said Tuesday.

The Austin Police Department highway enforcement command, along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Travis County sheriff’s office and others, will increase the number of officers on patrol throughout the region through Operation Holiday Lights.

Operation Holiday Lights targets drunken and reckless drivers. Read the rest of this entry »

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